Mystery Surrounding Prince’s Unexpected Death Deepens As Social Media Explodes With Theories

A lot has changed in the 24 hour aftermath of the shocking death of one of the world’s most popular artists ever–Prince, who was found dead inside an elevator in his home at 57 years of age yesterday.

By this morning, Prince’s music occupied the top 10 slots on iTunes, easily making Prince the most popular artist on the app by far.

But controversy follows the death of the singer and musician. Answers are few but the mystery has deepened as fans try to make sense of how Prince died, and why he ended up dead in an elevator?

TMZ is also reporting that Prince’s medical emergency that caused him to postpone a concert in Atlanta earlier in the month, which was reported as the singer battling the flu, may have been a prescription drug overdose. Prince’s plane had to make an emergency landing shortly after leaving his scheduled show in Atlanta.

Rumors abound as fans have flocked to social media to attribute the singer’s death to everything from AIDS to drugs to a murder plot–to even the ghost of Vanity exacting revenge on the singer.

Autopsy reports are pending. And his millions of fans are anxiously awaiting what those findings may reveal.

In the meantime, fans have begun making the pilgrimage to Paisley Park, where the entertainer lived and recorded his music. Crowds have been photographed crying, leaving flowers, and sharing messages of love and prayer along the wrought iron fence outside the expansive estate.

Meanwhile, the focus is now shifting to Prince’s multi-million dollar estate–and his reported trove of unreleased music–all of which could net his survivors billions of dollars in potential and future revenue.

But Prince had no known children, and he was twice divorced. His closest of kin is his sister, Tyka Nelson (pictured, left), herself a former singer who once battled drug addiction, and her two adult sons.

Price’s last performance, at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, is being looked at as a live album release.